


Fed Up

by sourgummyworms



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-12 05:53:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15333249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sourgummyworms/pseuds/sourgummyworms
Summary: After years of living with the guilt of helping Hawkmoth, and allowing Gabriel Agreste to be callous twoards his son, Nathalie decides to help Ladybug and Chat Noir take him down.This is my first fic-  hope you like it! I really love Nathalie and she does NOT get enough screentime lol





	1. Chairmaster

Nathalie was fed up. She’d had enough.

 

Her sudden change in attitude had been set off by her boss, after she had overheard some choice words he had given to his son. She thought he had cared about his son, but simply showed it in his own way. This changed her mind.

 

The only reason Nathalie was helping Gabriel Agreste-  _ Hawkmoth _ \- was because she truly thought that he would fix everything. She also wanted Adrien to be happy again, but she would never admit that.

 

They had been arguing for a while, and the main reason they were arguing in the first place, Adrien had missed a photoshoot, didn’t even seem to matter anymore. It wasn’t much of an argument either, just Adrien apologising profusely while Gabriel shouted at him.

 

Nathalie couldn't pick out what they were saying, so after looking around for a moment and seeing only a maid cleaning the hallway, she put her ear against the door.

 

“...ost important shoot of the year! While you were off galavanting with your miscreant friends!”

 

“I told you, father! I wasn’t able to go because there was an akuma attack! I would have been there if Hawkmoth hadn’t-”

 

“I cannot believe you are actually my son. The only reason you’re of any importance to me is your modeling talent, and if you can’t even do that now, what good are you?”

 

Nathalie heard silence, then quick footsteps, and readied herself for the door to open. When it did, Ardien ran out with tears ready to spill out. He looked at Nathalie for a moment, but she only looked forward with a blank stare, seemingly uncaring. He blinked, the tears finally falling down. As Adrien walked to his room silently, Grabiel stepped out of his office and cleared his throat before telling Nathalie in a surprisingly calm voice that it was time for her lunch break.

 

Nathalie nodded and began to leave. As soon as she closed the massive door to the Agreste mansion, she allowed her emotions to show on her face. She choked back a sob, and wiped the tears off her face. 

 

As she walked down the street, a notification popped up on her phone, alerting her of an akuma nearby. The image was of a woman throwing chairs and generally terrorizing the city.  _ Thank god it’s not Adrien _ she thought, continuing down the street. But, before she could get her lunch, a plan formed in her head.

 

Nathalie turned around, and ran towards the sounds of screams and chairs being thrown.

* * *

Chat Noir hopped off of his windowsill, and ran in no direction in particular. People on the street waved and tried to get his attention, but he ignored them, and continued on. He came to a stop only when he heard screams and shouting nearby. He smiled, knowing an akuma meant seeing his lady.

 

Chat had been fighting Chairmaster for a few minutes when Ladybug showed up. “How did you get here so fast?” She asked.

 

“I was in the area, I-” 

 

“STOP IGNORING ME, THE CHAIRMASTER! YOU MUST SIT AND LISTEN TO ME!” the akuma victim roared. She began throwing her seemingly infinite supply of chairs harder at the two heroes.

 

“Sorry, but I couldn’t  _ chair _ less!” Chat chuckled at his own joke, only getting an “ugh,” out of Ladybug. She avoided a few chairs, then began moving civilians who had been trapped in their seats to safety.

 

“How’s your day been, Ladybug?” Chat inquired. The question caught her off guard.

 

“Oh! Uh, pretty good, I guess. I was hanging out with my friends. They made me watch that dumb cartoon they made about us,” Ladybug rolled her eyes while throwing her yoyo, wrapping it around Chairmaster’s ankles and tripping her.

 

“Dumb? I love that show! The fight scenes are so cool!” Chat shouted. He hit a chair back at the akuma victim, striking her square in the jaw.

 

“Stop it! Stop ignoring me! I will defeat you both, and take your mirac-”

 

“Are you kidding me? Our characters are so unrealistic and oblivious to everything around them! Not to mention the soundtrack is annoying,”

 

“I bet you just don’t pre _ fur _ the fact that they haven’t made Ladybug and Chat Noir a couple yet… Cataclysm!” Chat used his ability to destroy Chairmaster’s purse, but no akuma escaped from it.

 

“Actually, I like that part. If they were I would not let my friends make me watch that show. Oh, the akuma’s in her glasses I bet!” Ladybug pointed at Chairmaster. Although she was losing the battle, Chairmaster appreciated that she was finally being paid attention to.

 

Ladybug used her lucky charm, an air horn, to make Chairmaster cover her ears instead of hold her glasses in place, while Chat Noir took her glasses off and broke them in half. This time, the butterfly flew out, only to be caught by Ladybug’s yoyo.

 

As a swarm of ladybugs flew around them, Ladybug smiled and looked up at her partner. “So, how’s  _ your _ day been?” Chat Noir tensed up for a moment, before looking at the ground.

 

“Uh… pretty… average. Same stuff as every other day,”

 

News cameras and reporters began running up the the two, trying to get as many questions answered as they could before their miraculous beeped. Chat Noir looked over the sea of cameras and saw a familiar face- Nathalie.  _ What’s she doing here? _

 

“Please, Chat Noir! Ladybug! This is important!” Nathalie yelled over the crowd. While Ladybug answered questions from some of the reporters, Chat waded through them to get to Nathalie.

 

“What seems to be the problem, ma'am?” 

 

“Not a problem really- well, I guess he is.. It’s uh… I have some… information you and Ladybug should know. And it’s probably not the best to talk about in front of cameras,” Nathalie looked around nervously. Chat was intrigued. What information could she possibly have?

 

“Hey LB- come over here for a sec. Tell the reporters to leave, too” 

 

Ladybug obliged, and Nathalie led them to a nearby alleyway. She looked around to see if anyone was watching. Ladybug’s ring beeped a two-minute warning. “Ok, get on with it,” Ladybug remarked.

 

“Alright- before I tell you, can you promise me that I won’t get in any trouble for withholding this information from you until now?” The two teenagers looked at each other, then back at Nathalie.

 

“Yes.”

 

“I know who Hawkmoth is.”

 

“You wh-” Chat was cut off by his ring beeping a one-minute warning.

 

“Meet us back here tonight,” Ladybug said with a serious expression.

 

“Of course. I get off work at 8:30. I’ll be here as soon as possible,” The three nodded to each other, and the two superheroes jumped up to the rooftops. Chat Noir made it into his room with seconds to spare, and sat down with a pit in his stomach.


	2. The Meeting P1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Nathalie meet up. Chat does not take the news well.

Ladybug arrived at the alleyway right on time. She sat and waited for her partner. Thoughts raced through her head at a million miles an hour- ideas on who Hawkmoth would be, what other information Nathalie would provide,  _ how  _ Nathalie had gotten her information, or if she was just lying to them. She could have discussed it with Chat Noir, but he seemed to be very late. So did Nathalie, for that matter. 

 

Ladybug called Chat on her yoyo multiple times, before he finally answered about an hour after they were supposed to meet. “Sorry about that- I had some unexpected plans. I’ll be there in a minute, and I see Nathalie coming, too.” He had been sitting in his room fiddling with a pencil and waiting for Nathalie to leave, but she had been held up with extra work… as usual. As soon as she rushed out the door he left to meet up with Ladybug.

 

Chat hopped into the alley, smiling nervously. Ladybug got straight to her thoughts. “What do you think she’ll tell us?”

 

Chat’s smile dropped instantly. “I’m really not sure. I know she works for Gabriel Agreste, but wasn’t he akumatized? Maybe It’s someone in her family, or-”

 

“Adrien,” Ladybug sighed. Chat hid his laugh.

 

“Remember when we heard Hawkmoth speak through that cloud of butterflies? My-Adrien Agreste’s voice is  _ not _ that deep,” he chuckled. The idea that his father was Hawkmoth had been pushed to the back of his mind, but the small chance that it really was him scared Adrien.

 

“Oh! Do you know Adrien in real life?” Ladybug perked up.

 

Chat put his hand behind his head and looked away. “Uh, I guess you could say that…”

 

Before Ladybug could interrogate Chat for information on her crush, Nathalie ran into the alley, her heels clicking loudly and echoing off the buildings surrounding them.

 

“Sorry I’m so late! I was held up at work… as usual. I should have let you know, but I didn’t have any way of contacting you,” Nathalie caught her breath for a moment. “Alright. I can tell you everything I know, and hopefully you can defat Hawkmoth,”

 

“And in return, you will not be punished for withholding this information until now. We’ve got it.” Ladybug nodded.

 

“One more thing… I promise nobody else knows about Hawkmoth- not even his family. So, please don’t punish Adrien. He didn’t do anything, and doesn’t know anything.”

 

Chat stared into space. His heart was racing.  _ No _ . He took a step back, falling onto a wooden crate.  _ It cannot be him. _

 

Nathalie took a deep breath, and looked at Ladybug. “It’s Gabriel Agreste.”

 

“I knew it!” Ladybug put her fist into her other hand.

 

Chat sat silently, mouth slightly open.

 

“I can tell you more-” Nathalie started, but was cut off by the sounds of thunder in the distance. It began to rain, lightly at first, but It quickly became a downpour. Nathalie floundered to put a binder from her bag over her head, but it didn’t do much to keep her dry.

 

“It’s okay- we have time, as long as Hawkmoth doesn’t know we’re onto him. Besides, I should probably get home,” Ladybug looked to Chat, who had been quiet for a while. “You too, kitty,”

 

“...yeah,”

 

“Ok, but next time let’s meet somewhere with less weather. Here’s my address. Can we discuss this more tomorrow, same time?” Nathalie said. The two heroes took the scraps of paper she handed them, one enthusiastically, the other with some hesitation. As the leaped away on the rooftops, Nathalie relaxed into a feeble smile.  _ Maybe this will work out. _

 

* * *

Before Chat could get far, Ladybug caught up to him and grabbed onto his wrist.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing,” Chat avoided Ladybug’s gaze.

 

“I won’t let you go until you tell me,” Ladybug tried to see the expression he was making, but he was facing away from her. The two stood in the same place for a long time, the rain and fog making it impossible to see anything around them but the wet rooftops and lights shining through the fog.

 

Chat wanted to tell her, he really did. But what could he tell her without her realizing who he was? 

 

“Just… let me go back to my house and allow this to sink in,” Chat said, still looking away. Ladybug nodded slowly, and paused a moment more before swinging away into the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for reading! To make up for not posting a chapter yesterday I'll post Meeting p2 later on today as soon as I finish it :)


	3. The Meeting P2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette cheers up Adrien, with some help from Tikki.  
> also #let adrien eat 2k18

The next day was a Friday. Marinette was surprisingly on-time to school. Knowing who Hawkmoth was made her feel relaxed, because for once her partner and her were on the upper hand. But, knowing that Adrien’s father was a supervillain made her worry about her crush.

 

Tikki popped her head out of Marinette’s purse, and looked around before flying up to her ear. “Psst- I have an idea for how you can talk to Adrien without tripping over your sentences.”

 

“Why do you want me to talk to him?” Marinette asked.

 

“Oh, I don’t know… I just think he might enjoy talking to you today,” Tikki knew that Adrien- to Marinette’s knowledge only Chat Noir- had not taken the news of his father being Hawkmoth well, and would need some cheering up. “Anyway, I think if you pretend like you’re talking to someone else you’ll forget to be nervous around him. And don’t talk about anything serious, just talk about your day.” Tikki hoped Marinette would be able to handle something that simple. 

 

Walking into class, she was greeted by her friends. Alya seemed surprised to see Marinette on time, Nino was absorbed in a game on his phone, and Adrien was… not there.

 

“Don’t worry, lovergirl, he’s just in the locker room,” Alya chirped. Marinette rolled her eyes as she got into her seat. “Oh, I figured out the perfect plan to get you and Adrien together! Remember how Nino didn’t like me until we were stuck in a cage for an hour? You-”

 

“Babe, your idea is great, but now is probably not a good time to put it into action. Adrien seems really bummed out today. He wouldn’t tell me why, though,” Nino looked up from his game.

 

_ Why wouldn’t he be? His dad is Hawkmoth for christ’s sake, _ Marinette thought. She looked over to Nino, who seemed lost in thought for a moment, then smiled up at Marinette.

 

“Hey, you’re pretty good at cheering people up! I bet If you talked to him and made him feel better he would totally like you a lot,”

 

“That’s actually a pretty good idea Nino,” Alya reached down and tapped the end of Nino’s hat. “One problem though- Marinette can’t exactly hold a conversation with Adrien,”

 

“No- I’ve gotten better at talking to him. I think I can do this, and I know exactly what to do,” Marinette was determined to give Adrien a reason to be happy, because she knew that his world would change drastically once she defeated Hawkmoth.

 

A moment later, Adrien sulked into class. Even Chloé looked worried about him as he sat in his seat and stared at the desk. Before more conversation could start, the teacher began her lesson.

 

〜

 

At lunch, Marinette sat with Alya, Nino, and Adrien, who was not touching his croissant. After some silence, Alya whispered in Nino’s ear, who nodded with a smile. The two then finished their food quickly, and got up.

 

“Nino and I are going to the library to finish a project. See you later,” Alya winked to Marinette, who rolled her eyes, but still smiled back. As they left, Nino patted Adrien’s shoulder.

 

_ Pretend you’re talking to someone else. Pretend it’s Alya.  _ Marinette looked at her lunch. “So… are you… okay, Adrien?”

 

Adrien squeezed the croissant in his hands. “I’m fine- just tired. I didn’t get any sleep last night,” He wasn’t lying. Marinette stole a glance at his puffy red eyes. “I don’t really want to talk at all, I’m too… tired,”

 

“Oh, well you don’t have to talk! If you don’t want to- I can- I uh, if you-” before Marinette could say more, Tikki tugged at her jacket. “I can do all the talking. You can just listen,” Marinette said.

 

Adrien didn’t reply, but he stopped squeezing his food.  _ Keep it light. Just talk about your day,  _ Marinette thought. “I had the craziest weekend. Jagged Stone’s assistant called me because Jagged needed a new outfit, and he refused to work with every designer in the city. I tried so many different designs, but he hated them all. He ended up bringing me to about ten different stores showing me outfits he liked so I could make him ones exactly like them. I suggested that he just buy the outfits he liked instead of have me make exact copies of them. He looked at me like I was a genius!” Marinette laughed and Adrien cracked a smile. She continued to tell him about her weekend, leaving out the parts where she fought akumas, or the fun she had on patrol with Chat Noir. By the time the bell rang, Marinette was confident in her abilities to talk to Adrien, and he had eaten his croissant.

 

Before they walked back into their classroom, Adrien stopped Marinette. “What would you do… if someone you really cared about, hypothetically, hurt people? If you still wanted them in your life, even if they were really… mean?” He had panic in his eyes.  _ Does he know? Is he talking about Hawkmoth? _ Marinette was worried until she realised he was probably talking about Chloé.  _ Nathalie said he didn’t know. _

 

“Well,” Marinette paused in though for a moment, before looking up at Adrien. “I would try and decide if they really care about you. Like really, truly, care about you,” she answered.

 

“And if they do or don't care about you?”

 

“I think that has to be up to you,”

 

That night, Adrien watched Nathalie drive away through his floor-to-ceiling window. He transformed and jumped out the window, running in the direction of Nathalie’s house. On the way, he saw a billboard with Jagged Stone on it, and chuckled to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> meeting part 3 (of 3) tomorrow! this was more of an in-between chapter but still an important one. Nathalie will be back too!


	4. The Meeting P3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat meet with Nathalie to learn more about Hawkmoth and create a plan of attack. They also learn a bit about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this fic im assuming Emilie Agreste is dead, and died around the time Gabriel got his miraculous because that's what's been implied so far in the show. (this was written before the end of s2)

Nathalie arrived at her apartment to find the two heroes of Paris already waiting outside. Ladybug seemed very serious, as she was trying to hide her excitement. Chat Noir also seemed serious, but dejected. Nathalie unlocked the door to her small apartment and let them in, looking around to see if anyone was watching.

 

Ladybug and Chat Noir sat down at her table, and looked around the apartment for a moment. It was small, but not cramped. It was clean, except for stacks of papers and dry cleaning bags with Nathalie’s clothes in them. Other than that, there was not much else. No houseplants, paintings, or other decorations. Nathalie hastily put her bags down, took off her heels, and took her hair out of its bun. Chat suddenly realised he had never seen her hair down, even though he had seen her every day since he was a child.

 

“Ok, right to business. What are the most important things you need to know?” Nathalie clasped her hands together and looked to Ladybug.

 

“Where does he send akumas from?”

 

“In the attic of the Agreste mansion, there is an observatory where he works from. He keeps all of his butterflies in there. He gets to it by unlocking the entrance using the painting of his wife in his office. I can show you the code later,”

 

“Does he have any other plans, other than taking our miraculous?”

 

“No, just that. He wants their combined power.”

 

Ladybug nodded. She was about to ask more, but Chat cut in. “How long has he had this plan?”

 

“As soon as he got his miraculous, a brooch he hides under his scarf, when he was on a trip.” Chat knew the trip she was talking about.

 

“Why did he trust you with this secret?”

 

Nathalie was surprised by this question. “I... really don’t know. I think he just really trusted me with it because I’ve been working for him for so long, and he really didn’t have anyone else to tell,”

 

“He had his son.” Chat said quietly. “Why did you keep it secret?”

 

“I… feel really guilt now, but I just never thought that he was actually hurting people. You two always saved the day; he never once cause any permanent damage,” she chuckled. “He also gave me a raise.”

 

Nathalie stood up and walked to her kitchen. “I don’t know about you two, but I need a drink. You want some?” she held a wine bottle in one hand and three wine glasses in the other.

 

Chat grinned. “I sure d-” 

 

“No, you don’t” Ladybug interjected. “Sorry Nathalie, we can’t drink.”

 

“Oh, come on- Gabriel won’t send out an akuma this late.”

 

“No, it’s not that. We’re 14.”

 

Nathalie put two of the glasses away. “Oh my god. I can’t believe you’re that young! I honestly thought you two were just short for your age.” She sat back down, and filled her glass up. “You don’t deserve to have all this weight on your shoulders at 14.”

 

“Actually, I got my miraculous a while ago, when I was 13.” Chat noted.

 

“Me too.” said Ladybug. “So if you helped Gabriel Agreste this long, why tell us now?”

 

“Well, it was Adrien,” Nathalie sighed. Chat sat up higher in his chair. “I helped homeschool him for most of his life, and I’ve gotten… attached to him.” Adrien didn’t know what to think first. Even though he had known Nathalie for most of his life, he didn’t know anything about her, not even her birthday. Yet she knew everything about him, because it was part of her job. It shouldn’t have been surprising that she cared about him, but to Adrien it meant the world.

 

“Yesterday, Gabriel was angry at Adrien, which happens a lot, but he said some really horrible things.” Nathalie was silent for a moment. “I know he says he doesn’t care about Adrien, but deep down, he’ll always be his son. For Adrien’s sake, I hope he starts changing soon. But, I know he won’t. That’s why I told you.”

 

For the next hour, The three created a plan of attack. Ladybug did most of the planning, Nathalie gave them helpful information, and Chat added a few ideas here and there. Other than that, he sat back and watched his best friend and his guardian, who he now wanted to be his friend. When the superheroes left, Nathalie watched them leap rooftops, then returned to her glass of wine. A few minutes later, her phone rang. It was Adrien.

 

“Adrien? What’s going on? Is something wro-”

 

“When’s your birthday?”

 

“What? May I ask why?”

 

“I just wanted to know,”

 

“Oh. Alright… It happens to be this Sunday”

 

“Ok thanks. Good night, Nathalie,”

 

“... good night, Adrien.” Nathalie hung up, and smiled to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! sorry this chapter is a bit short- the next one will be longer and I will probably post it in a day or two


	5. Before the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day before their attack on Hawkmoth. Chat needs some more advice and Nathalie is piled down with work.

The next day was fairly calm, except for a short akuma attack. Although they were ready to attack Hawkmoth, Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Nathalie were waiting until the next day, as Gabriel Agreste had a rare meeting with business partners. Although he would still not be leaving his house, Nathalie assured the others that he would be occupied for a few hours. “He takes his business seriously, and he wouldn’t let being Hawkmoth get in the way of it,”

 

Chat Noir found himself with nothing to do but think about how he had to fight his own father. He didn’t want to sit in his room and think about it, and he couldn’t talk with Nathalie or Ladybug. Nathalie was working, and he had called Ladybug multiple times to no avail. At least he had Plagg.

 

“What do I do, Plagg?”

 

“Didn’t you decide all that last night? It seems like you guys have everything figured out for the big day,” Plagg floated lazily around the room.

 

“No, it’s not that. We have everything figured out but… I don’t know if I can do it. He’s my dad. He’s the only family I have left.”

 

Plagg was at a loss for words. Serious conversations were never his strong suit. “Hey, if you can’t talk to Ladybug about this, how about pigtails from school?”

 

Adrien’s cheeks turned a soft pink as he thought for a moment. “I can’t tell her. She can’t know about any of this either- it might be dangerous,”

 

“Just keep it vague,” Plagg shrugged. He floated in front of Adrien’s face, who noticed the kwami had real concern in his eyes, for once. “Besides, she’s given you good advice before, and she’s a lot better with this stuff than I am,”

* * *

 

Marinette was in her room working on a new design, Tikki napping on her shoulder. She had been trying to distract herself from thinking about the next day, but couldn’t get it out of her head. She also couldn’t stop thinking about how Chat had been acting recently. He hadn’t been cracking as many jokes, or hitting on her (she didn’t mind that), or even talking as much. It had started around the time they had learned about Hawkmoth, and she wondered if he was scared to fight…

 

She was thinking about it again. She shook her head, turned up the music in her headphones, and went back to her work. After another few minutes of sewing, Marinette was interrupted by a thud above her head, coming from her balcony. Tikki instantly awoke and flew up to the trapdoor. She flew back down to Marinette’s ear, and smiled. “It’s Chat Noir,”

 

Opening up the door, she saw Chat looking at the view from her balcony. The last time she had talked with him here, he had been quiet and downcast. This time, he seemed more distressed. When he heard her behind him, he turned around quickly with a nervous smile on his face.

 

“Hi! Uh Marinette! I know this is probably a bit weird, I mean- the last time I was here I-”

 

“Hi,” Marinette looked concerned. “Are you… Alright?”

 

“Of course! I just…” Chat’s smile fell. “I needed some advice. You're the only person I could think to talk to,”

 

Marinette would have said ‘What about ladybug?’ but she already knew the answer to that. At the end of the akuma battle earlier that day, she had left as soon as her earrings started beeping. She had noticed Chat’s change in attitude, and told him to get some rest. It seemed like he hadn’t taken that advice as she could see redness in his eyes even under the green tint of his mask.

 

“Ok sure! What’s it about?”

 

“There’s someone I care about a lot, but who is also a bad person. And it’s my job to stop them because well… I’m Chat Noir. It’s my job. I just don’t know if I can go through with it,”

 

 _Does Chat know Gabriel Agreste personally? Is he close with him?_ _Why didn’t he tell me?_ Marinette stood looking shocked, until Chat turned to look back at her. Part of her was angry that he didn’t want to talk to Ladybug about this. The other was happy that he wanted to talk to Marinette about this.

 

She walked forward to lean against the balcony next to Chat Noir. “My Grandmother is… eccentric. She gets into all sorts of trouble because of this. One time, she landed herself in prison for a month. My dad was furious. But, he still visited her almost every day and even helped her get a shorter sentence. Just because she did something wrong, didn’t mean he stopped caring about her. She didn’t stop caring about him, either.”

 

“So… I should still go after him for his actions, but also help him get out of it?”

 

“I think it’s a bit more complicated than that, because you have to be the one to stop him. If you weren’t Chat Noir, It wouldn’t be your responsibility.”

 

“But I am, and it is,” Chat sighed.

 

“Yeah. Can I ask… how close you are to this person?” Marinette raised her eyebrows. Chat was silent for a moment, wondering if it was safe to tell Marinette.  _ Why not? Everything will change after tomorrow anyway, _ he thought.

 

“He’s the only family I have left,”

 

Marinette’s eyes widened.  _ ADRIEN? _ It couldn't be him. Chat was probably talking about somebody else, not Hawkmoth, not Gabriel Agreste, just some other…

 

Chat looked at Marinette again, and suddenly it didn’t matter who he was under the mask. All that mattered was that Chat needed her help. “No, he’s not. There are other people out there that care about you. Your friends, most of Paris adores you, and… me,” 

 

“And what about Ladybug?”

 

“Of course Ladybug lo- cares about you,” Marinette laughed, and poked Chat’s nose with her finger. It reminded him of Ladybug.

 

Chat absorbed her words for a moment. “How are you so good at coming up with things to say all the time? Are your parents like this too?”

 

Marinette laughed. “Yeah… my parents taught me,” She looked down at the real voice of reason in her pocket, and scratched the kwami’s head. “Wait- what do you mean all the time? I feel like this is the only time I’ve given you advi-”

 

“Gotta go, princess! I have a big day tomorrow! Thanks for your help!” Chat bounded away on the rooftops, the colorful sunset contrasting his black suit. Marinette watched him leave.  _ He wasn’t talking about Hawkmoth, was he? Chat isn’t Adrien, is he? _

 

* * *

Nathalie had been working for hours. She had been piled up with work by Gabriel suddenly. Despite this, she was able to set aside time to schedule a photoshoot for Adrien the following day on the opposite side of town.  _ He’ll be safe from the fight. _

 

Just before the end of the day, she was called into Gabriel’s office. When she went in, he was standing with his arms behind his back, facing the painting of his wife. “How long have you worked for me, Nathalie?”

 

“About ten years, sir,”

 

“And you’ve done a great job these ten years,” Gabriel turned to look at Nathalie, his unwavering grey eyes bored into her. “You’ve been very trustworthy.”

 

“Thank you, sir.” 

 

_ Shit. _

 

“What is the most important part of this job, in your opinion?”

 

_ Looking out for Adrien, _ she thought. “Helping you in any way possible,”

 

“I see,” Gabriel put his hand to his chin, a small smile forming. “You see, I was wondering what exactly you were doing communicating with Ladybug and Chat Noir…”

 

_ How did he know? _

 

“I bet you’re wondering how I knew. Well, I have to be careful with my secret. It would be simply irresponsible of me to  _ not _ keep tabs on the one person who knows,” he chuckled, and walked forward to the golden painting in front of him.

 

“I- I just wanted Adrien to be safe,” Nathalie’s voice cracked, but she still held a neutral face in front of Gabriel.

 

“What do you know about Adrien’s safety? You’re the one who insisted he go to public school!” Gabriel turned, a menacing look on his face.

 

Nathalie’s face was still emotionless.  _ He won’t think I’m angry enough to akumatize. _ “It was never dangerous until you made it,”

 

Gabriel paused, then quickly pressed a button on his desk. Suddenly, the windows and doors were barricaded, trapping Nathalie inside the office. Gabriel turned back to the painting to put the code in, and calmly walked to the pedestal lowering him into his lair.

 

For about a minute, Nathalie was left alone in the room. She tried to calm herself, but began to panic as she looked for a way out. She knew the only way to shut off the barricades was voice activation by Gabriel. As she looked around the room for something,  _ anything _ , a dark purple butterfly fluttered into the room, and landed on the tablet she always carried.

 

She had seen plenty of akuma victims before, but being one herself was completely different than what she thought it would be.

 

_ “Hello again, Nathalie,” _

 

“No! I won’t help you anymore!”

 

_ “Oh, but I’m sure one last thing won’t be too much? I only need you to find two pieces of jewelry,” _

 

“You’re destroying Paris! And you’re hurting Adrien!”

 

Nathalie was surprised to not hear a response for a moment, but the glowing butterfly mask was still in front of her.

 

_ “I can sense you care a lot about him,” _

 

“... you should, too. He’s your son,”

 

The mask flickered for a moment, then glowed steadily again.

 

_ “If you help me, you’ll be able to protect him…” _

 

She didn’t want to do it, but as soon as he said those words, she gave him to smallest bit of an opportunity to take over.

 

“Yes, Hawkmoth.”

 

* * *

The sun was just setting over the horizon when Chat Noir leaped back into his room. He quickly detransformed and put on his pajamas when he heard footsteps coming towards his door. He shut the lights off and hopped into his bed, pretending to be asleep.

 

It was weird to hear high heels clicking into his room, usually Nathalie had gone home by now. He ignored it, continuing to pretend to sleep. The clicking stopped when the figure arrived at Adrien’s bedside. He allowed himself to open one eye and peek to see what Nathalie was doing…

 

It was not Nathalie who stood at the end of his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know in canon(spoilers kinda) Nathalie is going to be akumatized into Catalyst ... I was planning this before I learned abt that


	6. Protecta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day of their attack on Hawkmoth. Ladybug quickly realizes something's wrong and Adrien tries to bargain with N̶a̶t̶h̶a̶l̶i̶e̶ Protecta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus!

It was the day of the attack, and Ladybug was at the rendezvous point. Chat Noir, on the other hand, was not.

 

She sat on the roof and waited, watching cars of businessmen pulling up to the mansion. She waited for another fifteen minutes before she began to wonder if something was wrong. After thirty, she was pacing back and forth, repeatedly calling Chat Noir and Nathalie, neither of whom were picking up. Before she could get lost in her worry, she made the decision to go in without Chat.  _ Whatever is keeping them probably has to do with Hawkmoth. _

 

She swung down inside the walls of the mansion, avoiding security cameras. She peered into some of the windows, and saw that Gabriel and the businessmen he was meeting with were all busy in a large room of the mansion. Ladybug then swung up to the observatory to get in, but the metal cover was closed. There was no way to enter it except through the painting. Ladybug climbed back down to Gabriel’s empty office, and broke open one of the windows as quietly as she could, which was not very. Luckily, no one seemed to notice. 

 

Ladybug slowly walked up to the larger-than-life painting of Emile Agreste. She stared at it in awe for a moment, as it was a beautiful painting, before putting in the code Nathalie had shown her. She knew what would happen next, but was still startled by the floor lowering beneath her.

 

* * *

Adrien woke up with a headache. He tried to put his hand on his forehead, but was stopped by the rope around his wrists. He was tied to a chair, one he recognized from his father’s office, in a dark room. The only light came from a dim purple glow from across the room. After a moment, it disappeared and the figure he had seen the night before stalked up to Adrien once again.

 

As soon as she came close enough that he could see her, Adrien’s eyes went wide with shock. “N-Nathalie?!”

 

“You know the drill, Adrien. I’m not Nathalie anymore. Call me Protecta,” she said in a monotone voice.

 

“What happened? Why are you doing this?”

 

“I need to protect you, Adrien. Ladybug and Chat Noir are putting you in danger. You’ll be safe if you can’t do anything,” Protecta paced around the boy.

 

“Hawkmoth is the one putting everyone in danger!” Adrien shouted. He wanted to say his father, but he couldn’t reveal to Nathalie- Protecta- that he was Chat Noir, or to Hawkmoth that he knew his identity.

 

“Hawkmoth is helping  _ me _ to help  _ you _ -” Protecta was cut off by the sound of the entrance to the observatory lifting the red and black spotted hero of Paris into the room. Despite the stressful situation, Adrien’s face lit up. 

 

“Ladybug!”

 

As soon as she saw Adrien, Ladybug’s face lit up as well. She was still wondering where her partner was, though.

 

“Watch out for Nathalie! She’s been akumatized!” Adrien shouted. This gave Ladybug the preparation to block Protecta’s first attack. When she hurled a boomerang-like tablet at Ladybug, she dodged it, and sent her yoyo flying towards the attacker. Adrien watched in awe as the heroine threw attack after attack at the akumatized Nathalie. He was worried she would need his help as Chat, but she seemed very determined to defeat Protecta.

 

“Where! Is! Chat!” Ladybug yelled between hits. Thus made Protecta laugh, although her face still had no expression.

 

“You don’t even know where your partner is? This whole plan of yours is falling apart!”

 

“This was your plan, too!”

 

“My new plan is protecting Adrien from you!” she spat. She threw her boomerang one last time, but when Ladybug ducked, it rebounded off the wall, and skidded to a halt next to Adrien’s foot. He stomped on it hard, releasing the butterfly inside. After Ladybug purified it, she kneeled on the ground by Nathalie. She caught her breath and wiped some sweat from her forehead.

 

“Alright, now that that’s over- What happened? And where is Chat Noir?”

 

* * *

 

Gabriel had been downstairs discussing plans. So far, he had been doing well, and the sea of suits around him seemed happy with his business. Then, they had heard what sounded like a breaking window. Followed by loud crashes and bumps from upstairs.

 

He nodded to a waiter who turned on some very loud music, which didn’t help much.

 

_ Protecta just needs to hold her off for a few more minutes… _

 

* * *

 

“Uhh…” Adrien looked away. Ladybug noticed him again, and rushed over to untie the rope. Adrien watched Nathalie, who was still kneeling on the floor.

 

“I’m so sorry, Adrien,” she breathed.

 

“It’s not your fault, It’s Hawk-”

 

“No. I wasn’t careful enough, and he found out about my plan to stop him,”

 

Ladybug cut in before Nathalie revealed enough that Adrien- innocent, sweet, Adrien- would figure out the villain's identity.

 

“Well, there’s nothing we can do now to change that. Nathalie, what more do you know that can help us before he-”

 

The entrance to the observatory began to lift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more chapters to come soon, but not as often as before.


	7. Let's Finish This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they finish it

“We need Chat Noir! Where is he?!” Ladybug said in a loud whisper.

 

“I’m not sure. I’ve been akumatized since yesterday…” Nathalie was still resting on the ground, but was becoming visibly stressed, and backing into the wall of the observatory. 

 

Adrien was running out of options. He twisted his ring on his finger, and felt plagg flying around in his pocket.  _ If I transform, Ladybug and Nathalie, and Father will all see- _

 

“Kid,” Plagg whispered from his pocket. Adrien looked down. “You have to. It’s now or never.”

 

“What was that?...” 

 

“Claws out,” Adrien whispered.

 

Ladybug stared in shock as he transformed. Nathalie looked about the same. Both wondered how they had not figured it out earlier.

 

“Thanks for saving me, my lady…” The platform brought an already transformed Hawkmoth into view. “Now, let’s finish this,”

 

There was no time to think about what had just happened, and Ladybug knew that. She turned her attention to the villain, spinning her yoyo in her hand. Chat Noir pulled his baton out as well, and before Hawkmoth could react to a room with no akuma and no Adrien, Chat threw himself at his father.

 

Hawkmoth pulled his sword from its staff sheath, blocking Chat’s baton from hitting him. For a while, Ladybug watched as father and son battled. Chat didn’t notice her standing there; he was too focused on the task at hand. He had no hesitation. Chat was done being conflicted, thanks to Marinette. He had to protect the people that really cared about him.

 

Ladybug eventually joined in on the fight. They had the advantage, as they had plenty of practice, while Hawkmoth had been fighting through his akumas. Still, the two heroes struggled to stop him. He blocked their hits, and used the swarms of butterflies around the room to hide himself and fly around Ladybug and Chat.

 

Nathalie watched from the sidelines, frozen with fear. She had just realized that the person she hated the most and his son, the person she loved the most, were fighting to what seemed like the death. She was also in their crossfire.

 

The battle continued, and slowly Hawkmoth was getting the advantage. He knew the room, he had studied their tactics, and he viciously wanted to win. Nathalie took a deep breath, and ran across the room. She picked up the chair Adrien-  _ Chat Noir _ \- had been tied up in. Hawkmoth hadn’t noticed her, but Ladybug had. She smiled at Nathalie as she snuck around to behind Hawkmoth, then gave her a signal. Nathalie smashed the chair over her boss’s back, and although she was not that strong, He was taken off-guard and fell to the ground. At the same time, Ladybug called her lucky charm, and Chat Noir used his cataclysm on the ground. After years of working together, Nathalie realized, the two superheroes knew exactly what to do without uttering a word.

 

All four fell through the crumbling floor into Gabriel’s office below it. Chat caught Nathalie as she fell. Hawkmoth was covered in rubble, but was still attempting to fight back. Ladybug caught her lucky charm, a jewelry box. Ladybug considered how she could use it, then looked around for red-and-black clues. The only thing that lit up to her was Chat’s and Hawkmoth’s miraculous. For a second she worried that she was supposed to give up her miraculous, but then realized what her lucky charm was trying to tell her. She walked to Hawkmoth, and shoved him into the chair with which he had captured his son with, and tied up up. She took off his miraculous, revealing malicious, tired man behind it. Chat made a quiet gasp. He had known he was fighting his father, but seeing him was still a shock to him.

 

Ladybug walked over to him, showing him the jewelry box, and whispering in his ear. Nathalie couldn’t make out many of the words, except, “talk to him,”

 

Chat sighed, “Claws off,” His transformation fell, and Plagg floated by his head with concern. Then, he noticed the purple kwami floating by the butterfly miraculous in Ladybug’s hand, and zoomed over. Plagg hit Nooroo with a bear hug, which Nooroo gladly accepted. Ladybug laughed, and pulled out her yoyo to contact the police.

 

Gabriel Agreste looked up to see his son in Chat Noir’s place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter was a lot shorter than I expected- I'm bad at stretching out fights ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> the story's almost over! I'm a bit busy with schoolwork but I'll try and get the last chapter out asap!


	8. Much Needed Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Gabrile have a father-son chat (pun intended). Ladybug's already used her lucky charm, which means she only has a few minutes before she detransforms.

“Adrien?”

 

“Father,” Adrien walked up to his father, and crossed his arms. He looked almost emotionless, but he was falling apart on the inside. Nathalie could tell; she knew the feeling well.

 

“Wh-why would you do this? You’ve put yourself in danger every day-”

 

“And whose fault is that?” This quieted Gabriel for a while. He had lost the argument quicker than he had lost their battle.

 

“Why did you do it? Well, I know why you did it, but why did you think it was okay?”

 

Gabriel sighed. “I just wanted Emilie back. I would have done anything. I just need your miraculous,” He looked up desperately at Adrien. “Please, just give them to me and I can wish her back!”

 

“The world doesn’t work that way. If she came back, someone else would have to take her place. It’s not up to you, or anyone to decide that.”

 

“But I would have the power to-”

 

“That doesn’t give you the right!” Adrien’s voice got louder and shakier. “Having power doesn’t give you the right to bring someone back to life, or akumatized innocent people, or treat you son like garbage!”

 

The room was silent, until sirens in the distance began to come closer. Ladybug looked to see red and blue lights through the windows.

 

“She was my wife,” he muttered.

 

“And i’m your son,” Adrien turned around, and nodded to Ladybug. She held the butterfly miraculous in one hand, and threw her lucky charm into the air in the other. As the ladybugs flew around the room, policemen ran into the house.

 

* * *

  
  


As Hawkmoth was walked away in handcuffs, he looked at Adrien. “I’m sorry,” he said, and it seemed like he truly meant it. Adrien hoped he meant it.

 

Ladybug’s earrings had been beeping every minute, and she was getting more panicked by the second, but the police officers wanted her to stay and answer questions. Adrien was also being asked questions, but kept looking over to Ladybug. When her earrings had only one dot left on them, he rushed over to her, and pulled her into the hallway and down to another room.

 

“Thank you, Ch-Adrien, now get out before I-”

 

She detransformed.

 

Marinette yelped, trying to hide behind something before Adrien saw, but it was too late. They stared at each other for a moment, Adrien’s eyes wide with amazement, and Marinette’s wide with panic.

 

Then, they both laughed. Falling to the floor, the two caught their breath. It felt good to laugh after their day.

 

“I can’t believe my best friend was sitting right behind me in class!”

 

“I couldn’t believe YOU were Chat Noir!” Marinette went to punch her partner, but was reminded that it was  _ Adrien freaking Agreste _ , who she could normally barely talk to.

 

Adrien stood up, reaching his arm down to Marinette. Her face turned bright red, and she stood up quickly without taking his hand.

 

“W-we better get back and-”

 

“Marinette, they don’t know you’re here. You have to be Ladybug,” Adrien reminded her.

 

“Oh- right. Do you have any cookies?”

 

* * *

 

After bringing Marinette some cookies, Adrien was introduced to Tikki, and Marinette to Plagg. The two kwamis were very happy to see each other, and even happier to watch the two teenagers with crushes on each other interact.

 

“Jeez,” Marinette sighed.“I-I really admired your dad. This is p-probably really hard for you,” Marinette stammered out the sentence. Although, not as much as she usually did at school.

 

“No, he sucked.”

 

“What?” Marinette was surprised by his reply.

 

“Yeah. I mean, he’s still my dad and all, but he wasn’t the best dad. I mean, his hobby was being a supervillain!” Adrien forced a laugh, and then sighed. “It’s a bit hard, I guess. He’s the only family I had left, and now he’s going to prison. Who am I going to-”

 

“Oh, there you are, Adrien!” Nathalie shouted. She ran into the room, squeezing past police officers with a box in her hand. “I almost forgot,”

 

She handed Adrien the box. “It’s a birthday gift, open it,” Nathalie smiled. Adrien looked at her, before a big grin exploded across his face. He tore into the gift, unwrapping two smaller boxes. He opened the larger one first, revealing a picture frame with a photo of his mother he had never seen before.

 

“I knew that you’d probably seen plenty of pictures of her before, but I was able to get this one off of an old camera I found in storage a while ago,” Nathalie looked away from Adrien, twiddling her fingers. “Open the other box,”

 

Adrien obliged, and found a key. “What’s-”

 

“It’s the key to my apartment,” Nathalie was looking at Adrien now. “After tonight, I knew you wouldn’t have a place to stay, really. It’s just temporary, until we can contact your relatives, but I’ve got an office I can turn into a bedroom and-”

 

Adrien caught Nathalie in a hug. “It’s perfect,”

 

Marinette had watched the whole thing, and was now beaming and wiping a tear from her eye.

 

“Wait,” Nathalie looked confusedly at Marinette. “Who are you? Why are you-” Noticing the look on Adrien’s face, she relaxed. “Oh.”

 

She adjusted her posture, and straightened her jacket. As she walked out of the room to return to the police, she turned to the two again. “I think our plan worked out,”

 

* * *

Ladybug returned to answering questions, along with Chat Noir. Eventually, the press showed up too. After hours of answering questions, The two were able to leave. They returned Hawkmoth’s miraculous to Master Fu, who told them to get some much needed rest.

 

Instead, they climbed the eiffel tower, and sat on the top. They talked for hours, about their secret identities, school, and Hawkmoth.

 

“Hey, Adrien?” Marinette asked. She found it surprisingly easy to talk to him now. She was nervous, as usual, but less so. “Remember that time we fought Mr. Pidgeon?”

 

Adrien smiled. “That has to be the funniest akuma we’ve had,”

 

“Yeah, or the Sapotis,” Marinette laughed.

 

“No, they were just annoying. I think Chairmaster takes the cake on most inept,”

 

“And Bubbler for worst costume!” The two laughed hard and loud, getting strange looks from passersby on the street. They didn’t mind.

 

Adrien sighed. “I think I’m actually going to miss akuma attacks,” he looked down. “Now there’s no reason for us to be heroes anymore,”

 

“That’s not true,” Marinette looked at Adrien. “We can still go on patrols. There's still other crime to stop, and people to save. And I think Paris would miss us.”

 

Adrien smiled at Marinette, and her cheeks suddenly felt very warm. “You really do give the best advice,”

 

The two sat in silence for a while. They watched the sunset, just to the side of the eiffel tower. They both had a lot to think about, Adrien more so, but neither really wanted to.

 

“It’s getting late…” Marinette started. Adrien looked panicked.

 

“Wait- I don’t really want to be alone right now,”  Adrien looked down at the street, and noticed an ice cream stand. “Hey! It’s Andre’s Ice Cream! Could you stay a little-”

 

“Sure. I think we deserve it after saving all of Paris,” Marinette chuckled.

 

Adrien hopped up and reached out a hand for Marinette. “After you, my lady.” Marinette laughed some more, and took his hand.

 

“Thank you, kitty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!! This was my first fic, and I plan to make more! I don't have any ideas right now, but I'll probably make some shorter and more light-hearted ones in the future. Let me know what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments!


End file.
